Author(s): Van Daalen Jude & Jackson Belinda

Australian History

Portraits from a pandemic

When COVID-19 hit Melbourne harder than a runaway tram, our lives changed - literally overnight.

Together Apart is a historical account of Melbourne's experiences during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, told through 60 stories of lives in lockdown. The book captures the poignancy of the lollipop lady waiting for the children who never come and the grieving families divided by borders. There's the barista serving up caffeine and counselling, the football coach relegated to the bench and the joy rediscovered in rainbows and bears as our world slowed.

What started as a conversation over the back fence to break the solitude of lockdown has grown into a friendship and a partnership between portrait photographer Jude van Daalen and her next-door neighbour, journalist Belinda Jackson.

Photographed, written and printed in Melbourne, Together Apart is Jude and Belinda's black-and-white coffee table book featuring 60 portraits of people in their neighbourhood, a time capsule reminding us of our emotional fragility and our resilience, our hope and humour, and our innate and unstoppable human need for togetherness.